Author: louisajd

This is a re-post from the excellent Suite T – The Author’s Blog. Do you like epilogues? I love them because they let me spend a little more time with the characters and, hopefully, tie up any remaining questions I had about the story.

By Dania Voss“Goodbye is the hardest thing to say to someone who means the world to you, especially when goodbye isn’t what you want.” – UnknownAs authors we strive to bring our stories to a satisfying conclusion. We want the end to be rewarding for our readers. But what if as writers, we’re not ready…

Have you heard of Patreon? I started hearing about it a year ago during my favorite podcasts. They would say something like, “Please support us on Patreon.” So, I checked it out, and it’s pretty cool.

Basically, it’s a website that lets you collect donations for your creative work. It’s kind of like crowdfunding, but I like Patreon better because you offer “rewards” for your subscribers. For example, if you donate $2/month to your favorite podcast, they might give you access to ALL their episodes, rather than just a few.

Or your favorite YouTuber might reward a $5/month subscription with behind-the-scenes videos that only patrons can see. You set up your own subscription rates and your own rewards. I’ve seen Patreon sites for writers, podcasters, illustrators, people who create video games… there’s seems to be no limit!

I recently set up a Patreon page for my kids’ magazine, JUMP! My goal is to raise enough money to print out lots of copies for children in Alamance County, NC. My mag is tiny — more of a newsletter — but I pack pictures, book reviews, craft ideas, science stuff, and much more in there. I’d like kids (and their guardians) anywhere in the county to be able to pick up a copy for free from the library or their doctor’s office. The overall goal is to promote learning in a fun way!

If you’re a writer or other creative type who needs to raise funds for a project, you might want to have a look at Patreon and see if it’s right for you. I’ll keep you posted on how my page does!

I just read an excellent post by author Sandra Hutchison about her journey(s) to find the perfect book covers for her works. If you’re an indie author, it’s definitely worth reading her article. She also makes some great points about copyright that you’ll want to check out. For example, did you know that tattoos can be copyrighted?

In the guide that my fellow-writer Lisa Logan and I published in 2018, we have a section on creating book covers and another section on copyright. We give good overviews of both topics, but I would also suggest checking out Sandra’s article and recommended sources for a more in-depth look at copyright and ways to create covers.

What I like about Sandra’s article is that she explores all the different ways you can create covers — from self made to pre-made to professionally designed — and she even combines some of those methods.

If you’re like me and love the process of getting your hands dirty and creating your own book cover, you’ll want to pause and think first. Is that “free” clip art from the Internet really copyright-free? If you’re photographing a model for your cover, does he/she have too much skin showing? Advertisers can have strict “decency” rules that sometimes defy logic!

What has been your experience with creating or choosing book covers for your work? If you work in the publishing industry, please feel free to share your insights, too!

This is a re-post from the excellent site booksbywomen.org. Are you a writer who struggles with health issues that make writing harder? What strategies do you find helpful to keep on task?

Writing and publishing a novel is an accomplishment few achieve, and those who do know how much work it is to make it to ‘the end.’ Countless hours of inspiration, plotting, writing, editing, re-editing, pulling one’s hair out, self-doubt, critique, and finally—finally—something ready to send out into the world. Now imagine doing all that when…

Try it out. If you like the book and find it useful, you may want to buy a paper copy so you can mark it in, turn the corners over, etc… If you do pick up our guide, please leave us a review so we know what you think!

This is another re-post because I think it’s a valuable article for lots of writers. One of my writer friends has said that she worries about her secondary characters seeming more interesting than her main characters!

I think this happens a lot, especially on T.V. dramas, where the main character’s friend or sidekick feels more sympathetic and relatable than the over-achieving main character. (No one can quite live up to Sherlock Holmes!)

By Roger Johns

In the early days of my writing journey, I was repeatedly cautioned to restrain my secondary characters because they had a tendency to upstage my principals. I tried, but soon became convinced the greater danger came from underutilized secondary characters that didn’t sufficiently challenge my main character, leaving her less realized and less…